Twisted Fates
by Primevera Took
Summary: Last summer, Ryou would have never suspected going back to Wizarding School in a foreign country with both the Spirit of the Ring and Marik Ishtar for his NEWT year. Just in time for the Triwizard Tournament no less. HP Goblet of Fire Crossover, No Yaoi
1. Back to Wizarding Life

_Howdy folks. I know some of you are waiting for the next chapter of History of Magic, but I wanted to upload this other crossover. I will finish History of Magic. _

_Although this is also a Harry Potter Crossover, it has nothing to do with HoM. It takes place during the Goblet of Fire, and will focus mainly on Ryou, Bakura and Marik (as in Hikari Marik)._

_The first chapter is written in Ryou's point of view. Most of them will be. However, some chapters will be written with other PoVs, mainly Bakura's and Marik's. _

_Note: Ryou will refer to Bakura as "Koe", voice, for a while. I hope you won't be confused. And whenever Ryou, Bakura and Marik are talking with one another, they will be talking in Japanese. _

_Also, I do not intend to add any Yaoi in this fic. Just some kind of brotherly and friendly love. Nothing more, sorry._

_Enjoy the first chapter, and please tell me what you think of it so far._

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**Chapter 1: Back to Wizarding Life.**

If I told my friends in Domino where I was right now, they'd probably look at me like I'd grown a second head. And if you count the fact that they knew about the evil spirit trapped inside my ring, then that's actually saying something!

I haven't even told them I left the country. Maybe I should send an owl to Kaiba so he could bring them a letter I'd write. Yes. An owl. To Seto Kaiba, of all people. Why does this sound so weird to you?

I'll let you in on a few secrets. The first one is that I'm a wizard. Yes, a wizard. Now a seventh year wizard. You'll probably ask why I spent the last year in Domino High instead of a magic school. That's because in Karoku's School of Witchcraft, you have to spend your sixth year in a Muggle School to learn how to blend in with normal people.

Considering everything that happened last year, I'm pretty much certain I somehow failed to "blend in". Fate was against me, I swear!

I just so happened to be sent to the same school as Yugi Mutou, the kid who managed to solve the Millenium Puzzle. A muggle kid. Solving a magic item. With all the magical consequences that accompanied it. Not to mention my wonderful Koe who absolutely wanted that item.

The second secret is that Seto Kaiba, aka Mister I-don't-believe-in-magic-even-if-it-dances-naked-in-front-of-me, is also a wizard. And so is his little brother, Mokuba. If Kaiba used that much energy denying the very existence of magic everytime something funny happened, it's because of all the Muggles that were involved last year. Way too many Muggles in our opinion.

Things got worse for me this summer when I tried mixing two different potions. One commonly used to calm down schizophrenic wizards. One used to repel spirits. With a drop or two of my own blood... And I used it on myself, to see if it would at least suppress the spirit residing within me...

It was risky, and the potion tasted foul. Real foul. I felt like throwing it all out, but then I started feeling weak in the knees and collapsed onto the floor, spilling the rest of the cauldron on the floor. I didn't even have time to hope it wouldn't leak into my neighbours' appartment, for I suddenly felt a horrible pain in the chest. And the dizziness didn't help. It didn't help at all.

I don't know how long exactly I stayed on the floor, feeling as if someone was trying to rip out my whole chest to take out my heart and tear it in two. It felt ages to me. And when it finally calmed down, it still stung for a day or two. Plus I thought I had gone insane.

Because that one spirit I was trying to rid my body of, the one who had been trapped for two or three millenias in my Ring, was standing shakily in front of me. Well done Ryou... Your dangerous testing of potions had actually worked.

I got sacked from my school. Partly because what I did was really dangerous. Partly because I had given a solid form to an evil spirit and they didn't like dealing with evil spirits. And partly because of all the magical incidents that happened around Yugi and his friends, to which I was sadly involved, even though I had nothing to blame myself for.

Koe said that they were probably scared of me, of us. Because what I had done was powerful. I doubt it. I just mixed some regular potions together. I didn't actually create a new spell or something, nor did I perform anything really complicated.

I could have gone back to Domino High, but I didn't feel like it. Not that I don't like it there, mind you. But it was pretty annoying to have studied magic intensely for 6 years only to get sacked before my last year had even started. The most important year for a wizard, what with the NEWT and everything. Plus, I wasn't about to explain to Yugi and his friends what happened. They're all Muggles.

I really didn't know where to go... until that one incident.

You would never guess who unintentionally lend me a hand.

It had been a pretty dull day, and my fridge was emptying faster than usual, since Koe also had to eat now. So while he was out doing God knows what, I went to the groceries. When I came home, I was surprised to see the door open after turning the keys only once. That was odd. I always, always locked the door twice. And it couldn't have been the Spirit, I had caught a brief flash of where he was just a moment earlier. There was no way he could have travelled from the docks to here in barely a minute.

So I went in, with my hand grasping my wand, hidden inside my coat. Contrarly to popular belief, I am NOT a wimp. I'm just a little cautious, that's all. Would you blame me? I'm a wizard, I just got sacked, I got involved in a lot of bad things during the past year, and someone had just broken into my apartment. I had every right to be cautious.

So when I felt someone sneaking up behind me, I turned and stupefied him, no questions asked.

...How the Hell was I supposed to know it was Marik Ishtar?

The one I probably considered my closest friend in Domino had thought it would be funny to scare me out of my wits. He managed pretty well. Not because he had broken into my house. Not because he had silently crept up on me.

But because I had used magic against him, my best friend. And it is illegal to perform magic in front of a Muggle.

He just stared at me for a second or two, probably due to the stupefying spell I had used, then his eyes grew bigger... and so did his grin.

"Snap... I didn't know you were a wizard too!"

... I was very confused at that point. And I don't know what my face looked like, but Marik must have found it looked really funny because he burst out laughing, unable to control himself before his sides hurt and tears were rolling down his cheeks.

So Marik was also a wizard. A homeschooled wizard, because of his Tomb Keeper's duty, but a wizard none the less. A pureblood wizard, actually. Isis was one too. Nobody knows if Rishid was a pureblood, a regular or a Muggleborn, since he had been adopted, but he too had magic.

Marik thought it'd be a good idea if we studied our last year together. It'd be his first time studying in a school, so he said Isis would feel less troubled if they were together (or, as Isis liked to put it, if someone could keep an eye on him). I didn't mind the idea. I didn't feel like starting alone in a foreign school anyway. Surprisingly, my Koe wanted to join us. Said something about making sure I didn't go and kill myself stupidly. Not that he cared or anything, just that there was no way of making sure the potion's effects were permanent. He'd end up back in the Ring until it got into the hands of someone else. Which could take quite a long time. Plus, I was the only one to know how to make the potion.

Our tanned friend suggested going to study in the Egyptian School. Problem was that I could only speak a few words of Arabic. Plus the school wanted nothing to do with us "albino twins"...

We couldn't stay in Japan, we couldn't go to Egypt. So our last option was England. Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Because English was the last language we both could speak. Koe can also speak it thanks to my memories. I always found it unfair, really. He could search my memories if he wanted to, and learn anything about me in a matter of minutes. I couldn't do that. And honestly, I didn't want to know the consequences such an act would bring.

So here I am, sitting in a sea of black, under a yellow and black banner, and two tables away from Marik and my Koe. All because of a Sorting. I ended up with the Hufflepuffs, the House that gathers all those that couldn't fit in any other House. They ended up in Slytherin, the House represented by a snake, symbol of their cunning minds and thirst for power... Why doesn't it surprise me they both ended up there?

My new classmates welcomed me warmly. I'm already friends with two other Hufflepuff students, Zach Aiden and Cedric Diggory. Both of them are seventh years, quidditch players, and like to joke around. They were giving me tips about my new professors while munching happily through the feast. The feast was delicious, might I add...

"So the teacher sitting on the other side of McGonagall is Mrs Sprout, she's our head of House." Zach would say enthusiastically. "Teaches Herbology, I hope you got your OWLs on that subject."

I smiled at that. "I got EE on the subject."

They both grinned at each other before turning back towards me. "Could have done better!" Was their reply.

They were about to continue their wonderful professor description when the Headmaster stood up. He must be really popular, because the entire Hall went silent to listen.

He started his speech by presenting the newest professor of the Staff, however, he was about to say something about him being late, when the doors to the Hall burst open. Most of the younger students and girls shrieked. The older boys' had grasped their wands from beneath their cloaks in case anything nasty happened, but then some of them relaxed.

"It's Mad-Eye..." Zach whispered as he frowned. Cedric looked slightly puzzled. "What's an Auror doing here?"

I didn't know who Mad-Eye was, but I knew what an Auror was. I looked closely at the newcomer, who wore more scars on his face than on Rishid's, with the added bonus of it making his face twist rather horribly. And the eye. He had a magical, huge, electric blue eye that was twirling on it's own to look around the Hall. I could have sworn it rolled back into it's own socket.

Now I think I know why he was nick-named "Mad-Eye"...

Dumbledore presented him as the new Defence against the Dark Arts teacher. Cedric shuddered slightly at that. "Classes are going to be interesting this year!" Well if an Auror teaches DADA it was bound to be! Aurors had first hand experience against evil wizards and evil spells. I wondered briefly what his reaction could be if he ever discovered who Akefia Bakura really was...

If "Mad-Eye's" appearance caused most of the students to scream, our Headmaster's next announcement caused the whole Hall to complain, it was barely possible to understand what was being said, though the general idea did pass. There wouldn't be any Quidditch this year. Zach choked on his pumpkin juice, spilling the glass all over himself, whereas Cedric all but leapt to his feet in outrage.

"WHAT? NO QUIDDITCH?" I could also faintly recognise Marik's voice from over the Slytherin's table. I'm not surprised he was disappointed. He never got to see a real game played on the field, having lived underground for most of his life. Koe didn't seem to care that much. Unless, of course, if he had been planning on becoming Beater for the Slytherin team. It wouldn't surprise me that much. He'd get to hit people with a bludger without getting into trouble... But then again, he'd get bored after a few days... He'd rather hit it towards the Pharaoh, who, thankfully, was somewhere on an island called Japan, all the way on the other side of the world.

I was a little disappointed too. Just a little. I hadn't seen a good match for over a year. But I didn't want to play it on a team. Slightly too violent... only slightly...

Once all the students, or at least, most of them, had calmed down enough to allow the Headmaster to be heard without having to use an amplifying charm on his voice, he finally told us the reason for the absence of this wonderfully popular game. This time, the wave of protest took a 360 degree turn, being replaced by an excited chatter between classmates.

They were hosting a Triwizard Tournament. An exciting game where three students, all from different schools, had to face three different tasks, three very dangerous tasks. Whoever succeeds best is proclaimed champion of the three schools. That is, if there is a winner... Because champions tended to die before they banned the game.

"Hey, Ced!" The dark-haired boy was nudging his dirty blond friend with such force that I felt bad for Diggory's ribs... "You gonna try out?"

"I guess so. I'm getting tired of the other Houses always winning the prizes."

"Same here! What about you Ryou?"

"I think I'll pass." Actually, I figured I had suffered enough danger last year to last me a life time.

Once the feast was over, Zach and Cedric showed me the way to our Common Room (password was Dragon's Breath) and ultimately to the Seventh Year Boy's room. I didn't waste time changing into my PJ's and snuggling beneath the nice warm, covers. I fell asleep in an instant.

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I'll admit it. I am no morning bird. But I usually always manage to wake up in time to go to school without having to sprint. I'm sixteen... no, wait, seventeen now, of course I'd like to sleep in every morning! Everyone my age agrees, I'm sure of it... Except maybe Kaiba, but he doesn't really count.

So why the Hell is Zach shaking me awake like I was some kind of apple-tree?

"Come on, Ryou, up up up! Time to go eat breakfast!"

I groaned and tried to swat him away, my eyes automatically searching for my wristwatch somewhere on my side table. 6.30 am... What in Ra's name is he doing up? Does he want to get hit or what?

I managed to escape his grasp long enough to hide my face somewhere beneath my pillow, pulling my arms over it so he wouldn't try and snatch it away from me. I heard a snort and a cold feeling suddenly washed over me.

"Dammit, Zach, give me my covers back!" I yelped, sticking my head out from under my pillow so he could hear me. The dark-haired grinned and went to annoy the person sleeping at my left. I think his name was Terry something...

"You better get used to it..." A sleepy voice called from my right. I didn't recognize it to be Cedric's at first because of the yawn. Apparently, he had been the first one to fall prey to Zach's morning ritual. "He does it all the time... Every bloody, freaking morning he does that..."

Just my luck... Of all the Houses I could have gone to, I just had to end in the one with the hyperactive early starter...

"ZACH!! YOU BLOODY IDIOT! I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!!" I winced at the yell and dragged myself up onto my elbows to see what was going on. Just in time to see Zach sprinting out of the room, laughing, to escape a drenched Craig. The one I think was Terry just shook his head as he lazily rolled out of bed.

"I thought we got rid of that bucket last year?" He muttered. Cedric was already making his way to the completely soaked bed to dry the covers up with a spell.

"Guess not... Better go make sure Craig doesn't throttle him..."

Terry made a face that clearly said he would be happy to actually help Craig instead of stopping him from killing our room mate. I silently agreed with him...

* * *

When we reached the Great Hall, it was completely deserted. No surprise there. Only a few students were sitting at their respective tables, which were packed with barely touched breakfast. Plates were covered by pancakes, muffins, creampuffs; bowls were full of fruits, jugs filled with pumpkin juice...

...Wait a second... Creampuffs?

"Well, someone seems to have quite an apetite." Terry commented once I had filled my plate with nothing but creampuffs, one of them already half eaten in my hand. I snorted and went back to my breakfast.

It wasn't long before Professor Sprout came along with our schedules. She smiled at us all, and her smile grew larger when she turned towards Zach.

"Ah, Aiden, bright and early as always. I'm surprised to see you still alive." Our eyes all shifted towards Craig at that point, and Cedric elbowed him to hush his growl. "Here it is, now, Herbology, of course, Transfiguration, Charms, Potions and DADA." The dark haired boy grinned as he took the sheet of paper.

"On to you, Diggory. Herbology, Transfiguration, Charms, Care of Magical Creatures and DADA." Cedric nodded and smiled a thank you to the teacher once he received his schedule. Professor Sprout then turned towards me.

"Ah, Mr Bakura, our new addition. Welcome to Hufflepuff, I shall be your Head of house this year." I smiled politely. There was the sound of rustling parchiement as she took out something I recognized as my OWL results from fifth year. "Now let's see, Herbology..." She smiled at me warmly at that point. "... good, very good, and you can also take DADA, Charms, Divination and Potions." Her wand touched a blank piece of parchiement she then handed me. "If you have any problems finding your classes, I'm sure your roommates will be happy to help. Welcome to Hogwarts."

She turned back to our other classmates to hand out the rest of the schedules. I was so busy taking a look at what was written on my paper, it took me quite some time before noticing everyone staring at me, with eyes the size of saucers. "What?"

"You got O on Potions?" Craig said with a hint of sympathy in his voice. "Good luck then."

"Hey, Potion's aren't too bad!" Zach complained, while swallowing down his pancake. "Just because the Professor's a twit doesn't mean the subject isn't interesting!!"

"What's so bad about Snape?" I enquired. Sure last night they told me he was not very pleasant with students who weren't in his house, but he couldn't be as bad as my last gym teacher. The one that wanted me to cut my hair. Ended up in a table-top RPG figurine, unless I'm mistaking...

"Snape is eviiiiiil... To put it simply... He's going to put you through Hell!" Terry muttered. Cedric agreed with him. Zach just shook his head and winked over at me.

"Don't worry, I'll be there to protect you!!" He laughed.

They sure knew how to make their new classmates feel welcomed. A few first years just heard them. Now they look scared...

We carried on through breakfast while the students started filling the Great Hall. The quiet chatter and occasional clinking of cutlery turned into a loud cacophony in which it was starting to become very hard to understand what was being said.

I was just munching through another creampuff when a heavy weight suddenly fell on my shoulder. The mane of long blond hair that appeared at the corner of my sight was enough of an indication to tell me who it was.

"'Morning Marik." I greeted. I was answered by a groan.

"'Morning..." He muttered back, burying his head deeper against my shoulder. At this point, Cedric, Craig, Terry and Zach were all glaring at my friend. I decided to ignore them for the moment.

"I take it you didn't sleep well?" It wasn't really a question, merrily a statement. Though I was curious to know WHY my lazy Egyptian friend hadn't taken advantage of the night to recover from the time difference.

"Slytherins sleep in the bloody dungeons..." He told me, as if that alone explained it. Well, it did to me.

You see, Marik had spent most of his life living underground, no trips to the surface allowed. It was in the tombs that his darker half was created. It was also where his father was murdered. Ever since, Marik would avoid going underground as much as possible. So having to sleep in dungeons for a whole year... I had to sympathise.

"Maybe you should go talk to the Headmaster if it bothers you that much..." I suggested. I felt him shake his head.

"And give Bakura a reason to make fun of me? I don't think so... I'll live..." He muttered. I rolled my eyes, knowing he was referring to the former spirit of the Ring by "Bakura". A habit he had taken ever since Battle City. He finally lifted his head from my shoulder to glance down at the parchiament in my hands.

"Is that your schedule?" He asked, while I took the chance to roll back my shoulders. Damn, he's heavy!

"Yeah... did you get yours already?"

"Yup, Snape gave it to us last night." He leaned back down over my shoulder to get a better look, ignoring my groan at having to bare his weight again. "Cool, we've got most classes together! Though you'll be alone in Divination. Bakura and I have taken Ancient Runes instead." I should have figured...

He saw my "brother" coming into the Great Hall, and stood back up properly, to join him. "Well, I better go. Wouldn't want him to scare the little kids now, do we?" He grinned from ear to ear as he turned round.

I just shook my head and reached out for yet another creampuff...

"Oh, I nearly forgot... Hey, Ryou, catch!!"

I turned back in time to see a rather big blue package flying straight towards my head. I threw my arm up, yelping, my wrist hitting the package randomly. It landed heavily on my lap with a thump. I glared over at Marik while massaging my wrist. There was a huge grin on his face. Even Koe seemed amused at the scene, judging from the smirk he was wearing.

"Happy 17th!" The Egyptian said before rushing away through the sea of students. I shook my head once again and proceeded to undo the silvery ribbon he had used to wrap my present. After quite some struggling with the paper (too much sticky tape, I swear), a book was finally revealed, sitting innocently on my lap. I stared at the title for a while. Trust Malik to find the only book on the occult I DIDN'T have, and that I absolutely COULDN'T find. I opened the book, beaming as I skimmed through it rapidly, before landing on the first page. A note had been scribbled in Malik's messy handwriting, though it did look like he had made an effort to make it neater than it usually was.

_Remember that time when you stupefied me? Well af__ter that I noticed your library. You were missing this volume, so I figured maybe you'd like it. Happy Birthday!_

_Mar__ik Ishtar._

_PS: Turn to page 57. You're gonna love it!! _

I raised an eyebrow and was about to follow the instructions when I finally noticed the looks my roommates were sending me. I blinked. "What?"

"What was that all about? What language were you speaking, who was that, and what was a S_lytherin_ doing here?"

Zach smacked Craig upside the head, muttering something beneath his breath before smiling back at me.

"More importantly..." He ignored Craig's snarl and pointed over to my book. "...is it your birthday?"

Blink. Blink.

"Erh..." I started, still a little confused by their behaviour. "Japanese, that was Marik, he's a friend... and erh... yeah, it is my birthday..."

Several more blinks later, Zach was grinning like a maniac and raising his glass of pumpkin juice up high.

"Then happy birthday to you, Ryou Bakura... And three cheers for the weirdest Hufflepuff in history!"

...What...? _Weird_?

Cedric and Craig rolled their eyes and whacked Zach across the head. "Idiot..." They both muttered, a smile on their faces. Terry, on the other hand, was having a hard time trying not to laugh too hard as the dark-haired rubbed his abused cranium. He then clapped me on the shoulder, still grinning. On the shoulder Marik had just left... What was it with people and my shoulder today?

"Well, Zach does have a point. I mean come on, look at you. You're sitting in the middle of the Hufflepuffs, your twin ended up in Slytherin, and you have friends over there. Things like this never happen!"

I rolled my eyes and glared at them. I'm not as good as my Koe, or as Kaiba, but it worked long enough for them to be taken aback. "What is wrong with that? You sound like you all hate Slytherins."

"We don't hate them..." My eyes landed on Craig. "They do. Slytherins are... well... they just don't mix with others, you know... they just..."

"They're eviiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiil!" Craig glared at Terry's interruption. The darker haired boy grinned back. "No, seriously, they are. Just like Snape. He's their Head of House, so it isn't very surprising. You better stick to Zach during Potions, at least for the first weeks."

I shrugged, not really interested with their interhouse rivalry. None of the other tables, Ravenclaw and Gryffindor if I recall right, seemed to like the Slytherins much, and I swear I could see lightning bolts pass between the students wearing the colors of the lion and those sporting the snake emblem on their chests. I turned my attention back to the book still resting on my lap and turned the pages until reaching the one Malik had pointed out to me. One look at the title got me snickering like crazy.

The section was labeled "Psychotic Spirits: how to avoid them."

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_That's it for now. I hope you liked it. _


	2. What Quidditch World Cup?

_Hi everyone! Sorry it took me some time, but I finally got it out. _

_Reminder: When Ryou, Marik and Bakura are talking to each other, it will be in Japanese unless I say otherwise. Also, Ryou will sometimes refer to Bakura as "Koe"._

_Chapter 2 might be a little slow, but I promise things will get a LOT more interesting next chapter! __In the meantime, enjoy!_

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**Chapter 2: What Quidditch World Cup?**

Within a few days, I already felt at ease in my new school. My roommates made a huge fuss about me not telling them my birthday was on the second of September. I only met them the night before; I wasn't going to say "By the way, guys, tomorrow's my birthday! Don't forget it!"

Our first few days in Hogwarts were rather uneventful, that is, as uneventful as it can be for new students. Like Marik had said, we had most of our classes together. I was relieved to tell you the truth. That way I could keep an eye on Koe. Not that I didn't trust Marik... Actually, I don't. If Koe decided to push his buttons, Marik would fall for it within seconds.

Surprisingly or not, Koe would stay silent most of the time, a bored expression on his face, with Marik trying hard not to sleep beside him. Neither had ever gone to school before, so now that I think about it, their behaviour wasn't that much of a surprise... Well Koe did went to school in a sense, when he was still bonded to the Ring; however I would always be the one in control whenever that happened. It wasn't until the third class that I managed to talk to Marik into getting him to pay attention. It really was discouraging to see him asleep beside Koe everytime I would glance towards them. I was surprised at how easy it was to... persuade him. Who would have thought the fearless Tomb Keeper was afraid of his older sister?

Now that I had discovered the best way to blackmail Marik, I could go to Divination with the assurance that my Egyptian friend would keep an eye on the former Spirit of the Ring in their Ancient Runes class. Besides, what could possibly go wrong during that class?

* * *

"Ryou... If I didn't like you so much, and had I known where your Divination class took place, I would have surely killed you an hour ago..."

Zach and Cedric, who were sitting with me at the table when Marik came over to talk to me, both snapped their heads up to glare at my friend, alerted by the threatening tone he had used against me. I blinked innocently, having really no clue what he was talking about.

"Why? Did I do something wrong?" I enquired. He groaned in frustration and jerked his thumb over his shoulder, pointing towards the Slytherin table's general direction.

"That baka dark spirit of yours decided to taunt me the entire class period, as if daring me to loose my temper and kick the crap out of him! I swear he did that on purpose!"

I leaned sideways to look behind him. Sure enough, it didn't take long to find Koe's mane of white hair. He was sitting alone at the table, looking bored as usual. He glanced up briefly, as if sensing my eyes upon him. He must have figured out what Marik was doing here, for his lips twisted up into a smirk. I sighed heavily.

"Figures..." I moaned. "Just ignore him Marik... he'll stop... eventually."

One hand resting upon his hip, he arched an eyebrow at me, obviously not convinced. I gave him an exasperated look.

"Marik... I've had him stuck inside my head for the last few years... I've survived without going berserk. Don't tell me you can't handle a school year..."

He blinked at me in surprise, then thrusted his hands up in the air, frustrated. "Dammit Ryou, I hate you!"

I smiled. "Of course you do. Can I eat now?"

He grumbled something in Egyptian, probably curses, and stormed back to his seat, doing his best to ignore the one seating next to him. Koe smirked over at me once again, amused. I couldn't help it. I smirked back.

When I turned around, I was once again met with the suspicious gazes of my comrades. Both Zach and Cedric kept glaring at Marik, although they had no idea whatever had been said between us. Ah, the advantages of knowing another language...

"What did he tell you?" The Quidditch captain growled. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. It was pretty obvious he didn't like Marik, despite him being my friend, just because he ended up in Slytherin. This school obviously has an issue with interhouse relations...

"Nothing much. He just came over to tell me how wonderful my twin was this morning. Nothing new..."

They both stared at me for a second, before finally settling down. Zach took out a newspaper from inside his bag, setting it in front of him as he ate, stopping only to flip the page. After a while of skimming through the columns and glancing at the moving pictures, he groaned.

"Nothing on the Quidditch World Cup... Guess those Death Eaters didn't get caught after all..."

I absentely bit down on my steak before glancing up at him.

"Death Eaters? What are you talking about?"

"About the Quidditch World Cup that took place this year of course..."

I blinked. "What? It was this year? Shoot, I totally forgot!" I groaned and let my head hit the table in front of me. "Ow..."

I heard a choking noise and glanced back up. Cedric was coughing out some of his pumpkin juice, with Zach hitting against his back to help.

"What do you mean you forgot?" The taller blond spluttered once he had calmed down enough. "How can you forget about the World Cup? You mean you didn't know? Ryou, it's been all over the news since the end of August!"

I stared back at them. Yes, I had totally forgotten about the World Cup. For starters, there was the Yugi Mouto incident. Koe had done a lot of taking over then; it had been really hard to keep track of time. Then, Battle City. Once again, Koe was in control most of the time. When I finally was conscious, I had a big slash on my arm to worry about, and I tell you, that wound was deep. The rest of the time, I was wandering the Shadow Realm. That was how the beginning of my summer went.

Then there had been the "giving Koe his own body" incident, the expel letter from my old wizarding school, finding out that Marik was also a wizard, applying for Hogwarts, getting everything ready for our new school year, and a lot of nagging Seto Kaiba so he would help us sort out both Marik's and Koe's identities, since neither had a real wizarding record before then. Speaking of Kaiba, I'm sure he knew about the World Cup, but of course, he failed to remind me it was this year. He is so getting a Howler for this...

So no, I really couldn't be bothered with keeping track of the sports events.

"I... had a lot of stuff to deal with last summer..." I finally answered, hoping they wouldn't press the matter much. "Why? Did anything happen?"

Both nodded with grim expressions on their faces. "After Ireland had won, it had been a huge party in the camping fields where most wizards stayed. When things started to cool down and most of them had fallen asleep, a group of Death Eaters made their appearance and started torturing the Muggle family in charge of the camping site. Everything went wild, people running everywhere and authorities rushing to stop them. Then the Dark Mark appeared..."

I stared at Zach, barely noticing my jaw had dropped slightly, leaving my mouth agape. "The Dark Mark? You mean that they..." I trailed off. I didn't want to finish that sentence. I really didn't.

I was relieved when Cedric shook his head. "No. No one died. Well, no one was reported missing at least. Rita Skeeter... she's a journalist here in England... well she wrote something about bodies being found and all, but that's bullshit! My father works at the Ministry, and I can assure you no bodies were discovered in those woods."

I kept silent, letting my mind slowly process all this new information. It was just my luck, really. I had heard about this Dark Lord two years ago, in history class. A wizard who had terrorised English wizards for nearly a decade. It was said he was defeated fifteen years ago. Quite stupidly, actually. Defeated by his own spell, bouncing off of a baby. And of course, Marik, Koe and I just had to come to England when events linked to that psychopath started happening again. My guardian angel, if ever I had one, really sucks sometimes...

Zach leaned back slightly, careful not to fall off the bench by doing so. "It's really funny you haven't heard of it yet. It's been all over the news just before the beginning of classes."

My mind briefly went back to the stack of newspaper neatly piled in my room back in Domino. Unread. Then I remembered I hadn't subscribed to the Daily Prophet yet. I chuckled nervously.

"Like I said... I've been really busy..." Too busy trying to survive this summer to notice anything else, actually...

* * *

I told Marik the next day. He was mad at first. Because Kaiba had forgotten to mention the World Cup was this year, and Marik would have loved to go see it. Yes, the world's most famous teenage CEO is definitely receiving a Howler or two within the next two days.

Surprisingly, even from the depths of his underground home, Marik had heard about this Dark Lord and his group of Death Eaters. "Where do you think I got the idea for the Ghouls from?" He had asked in a half exasperated, half amused tone. I really resisted smacking my palm against my forehead. I really did. Ow...

"But he's dead now, so even if some of his wannabe followers start acting up, there's nothing to worry about. Just like..." He trailed off, a scowl on his face. A forceful shake of the head later, and he spat the words out of his mouth, as if they were poisonous venom. "Just like my darker self."

His scowl never left his face as he brought his arms across his chest, resting his hands loosely on his forearms. He seemed upset with himself, probably for his falter. I never got to see this darker character, thank Ra. I was already in a coma when he sent me to the Shadow Realm. But what I've heard about him were enough to send chills down my back, although I do hope Honda was exagerating when he was telling me about those facial expressions of his. It was just... disturbing!

Marik usually doesn't talk about it. And I will never ask him unless he brings it up by himself, either. It's obvious he doesn't want to add anything. So I let the subject drop.

Koe, however, isn't as tactful as I am.

"What's got you so upset, Ishtar? Don't tell me you actually miss that thing that was once a part of you."

I quickly moved to the side when I saw Marik's fists clentch, putting myself in between him and Koe. Marik's eyes narrowed, a small growl escaping his throat as he glanced down at me before locking them with Koe's amused ones.

"Shut up, Bakura!" He hissed dangerously. He kept clentching and unclentching his right hand, probably resisting the urge to seize either his wand or the rod.

"Bakura"'s smirk widened eerily, his eyes glinting a bloody brown as he looked down on us. Taunting Marik and getting on his nerves was becoming a habbit now, which couldn't be good. I sighed and gently but forcefully took Marik's arm to lead him away. We had class together anyways, Double Potions, hurray.

"Just ignore him and he'll stop." I quietly said, not daring to look back at Koe. The feeling of his glare burning against the back of my skull was enough, thank you.

* * *

Potions was... interesting... Although Zach smiled and tried to wave me over beside him, I wasn't about to leave Marik alone beside Koe, so I sat down with my Egyptian friend, mouthing a "Sorry, I'll talk to you later" over to my roommate. His smile turned into a frown as he turned back round to face the front of the class, and I couldn't help feeling a little guilty. Koe took a seat across from us, alone.

Professor Snape was just like the others had described. He hated anyone who wasn't in Slytherin, and the first thing he told us while entering the class was that he'd be surprised if any of us passed the NEWT's on this subject. He didn't waste time assigning us to brew a Sanguis Repellis, a potion used against vampires, a lot more effective than garlic and other fictional crap served to Muggles. It takes a few weeks to correctly go through every step of it, so he expected us to come down here regularly to check on our cauldrons and to add ingredients at the correct time.

"If your common room's anything like this dungeon, I can imagine why you don't want to stay here." I commented casually with Marik while the professor was busy bothering one of the only Gryffindors in the room.

"Not really..." He absentmindedly answered, his eyes focused on the instructions and his left hand busy stirring the ingredients he had already added. "Although it is dark with the Slytherins, it's a lot warmer than in here, and not as damp. But it's still... well, it doesn't feel... right..."

The professor came over to us, so we stopped talking for a while. He didn't say anything to me, although he did linger behind my back a lot longer than with Marik. According to Zach and the others, it probably meant that he was looking for something to say against my potion making. He didn't say anything to Koe either, although the boredom in my darker half's eyes was... evident.

"Bakura seems to be doing fine." Marik suddenly said after a while, nearly surprising me into cutting off my own finger instead of the root I was currently chopping into bits. "I wonder if he's ever had to do something similar before."

Marik was right. The cloud of smoke emanating from Koe's cauldron was the correct colour, even though it was probably a shade too dark. "What do you mean?"

His eyes drifted towards the ceiling for a second. "Honestly, Ryou. He was a thief. Wouldn't surprise me if he knew a thing or two about poisons..."

* * *

One class turned into another, teachers started piling homework on us, and before we even knew it September had ended, and October came with its autumnal chill and harvest time sceneries. The trees in the courtyard started loosing their leaves, littering the pathways and grass with patches of warm colours, before turning brown and dry, and slowly turning the lively castle of Hogwarts into the castle of Dracula. Well, seen from the outside, anyways.

One evening, we were all asked to stand in front of the castle doors, sorted by House and Year, to greet the students from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang before heading back in for dinner. Autumn's wind was blowing rather harshly, so I was very happy to have wrapped a nice wooly scarf around my neck to keep me warm. Zach Aiden wasn't as insightful as us, though.

"Can't they travel a little faster?" He complained after a full half an hour of standing outside. "Geez, you'd think they would have the decency not to make their hosts wait for them out in the cold." He stuffed his hands in his pockets in an attempt to keep them warm, bouncing up and down on the spot.

"Do you have any idea how far their schools are from ours?" Cedric muttered while tightening his cloak around him. "They must be just as impatient as you are to finally get here."

"And you wouldn't be so cold if you had actually taken the time to wrap yourself in warm clothing, you idiot." Craig's voice warily came from somewhere on my left, loud enough to reach Zach even though Terry, Cedric and I were standing in between them. One thing I learned while spending time with my roommates was that the two young men were adepts of the "I hate you, I love you too" kind of relationships. They were great friends, apparently, but whenever they had the opportunity to get on each other's nerves, they would happily do so. Hence why there was no way we would leave them standing side by side.

Zach snorted from my right, digging his hands out of his pockets to wrap his arms across his chest, tucking them instead between his arms and ribs. "I didn't have time to go back to the Common Room, I was busy talking to Lizzy. I met her down in the corridors earlier."

Elizabeth "Lizzy" Aiden is Zach's little sister. I hardly got to meet her properly, except on the rare occasions when she would come over to our table to ask her brother a thing or two. She's a Fifth Year Ravenclaw, if I remember right.

I tuned out Craig's next remark to lean slightly over one of the Sixth Years to take a look at the Slytherins. Both Marik and Koe were standing at the end of the row, slightly away from the rest of the group, but not quite enough for anyone to tell they weren't a part of the House. Marik had his hands thrusted deep inside his pockets, and although he was wearing a dark green scarf up to his chin, I could see he wasn't very happy, even from this distance. Koe was standing beside him with his arms crossed loosely over his chest. They appeared to be talking to one another. I couldn't tell what about, though. When we had walked passed them a little earlier, they were both speaking in Egyptian. The only words I understood were "stupid", "jackass", and "flame". Or was it "sun"?

A cry rang out suddenly, and someone in front of us lifted his arm to point at the sky. Cedric lightly elbowed me, but I was way ahead of him. A light glow was slowly growing in size against the evening sky, and what I first thought to be a star soon became a carriage flying over the grounds of the castle. The carriage was huge, and was pulled by a set of equally huge horses, and as they landed, the ground beneath us thundered with the pounding of their massive hooves. Many a student stumbled in surprise, and I nearly fell against Cedric.

The horses finally stopped, and so did the carriage. It was truly a beautiful thing. Silver and white were the dominant colours, with some gold trimings around the edges, curling across the door in an intricate design. The upper half of the door was made of glass, but a dark blue veil prevented us from seing inside.

Professor Dumbledore went up to open the door to the carriage, and out came a tall, very tall woman. Her height matched Hagrid's, and she held herself with dignity. She was introduced as Madame Maxime, Headmistress of Beauxbâtons, and she stepped aside to allow her students to join her on the lawn of the castle. All wore long blue cloaks over their robes, and some of them started complaining in french. I guess they weren't expecting it to be that cold.

As soon as Hagrid was taking the massive horses away, another cry rose out. This time, the source of the commotion came from the lake. What looked like a crow's nest had risen from the dark waters. When it was close enough to the shore, there was a tremendous splash, and the next thing we knew, a dark ship had appeared in its place, a darker mass against the shadows of the Forbidden Forest.

"Is it me, or are the people of these schools trying to impress us?" Terry muttered. Craig snorted.

"Looks to me they're doing a pretty good job. Look at the First years!"

Indeed, the front lines of our School were whispering and jumping up and down excitedly, pointing at the ship as the two Headmasters walked over towards the ramp that had just been placed to allow its occupants to reach land. A man came out, shaking hands with both professors before the three of them came towards us, his students in tow. This was Professor Karkaroff, a man with a pointy black beard, wrapped in a winter cloak that made him fatter than he really was. His students all wore a cloak similar to his.

As the students lined up opposite us, louder whispers filled the air. Some were pointing at one of the Durmstrang boys, and I vaguely heard the name "Viktor Krum".

"Why are they calling one of the Bulgarian Quidditch team members' name?" I asked. Cedric was taller than I was, and since he was the Hufflepuff's Seeker, he was more likely to be able to see what had sparked most of the students' interest.

"He's here." He gasped suddenly, and I had to squint. "I knew he was young, but come on! Our age?" He pointed to one of the broader shouldered Durmstrangs.

A celebrity had just come to Hogwarts.

* * *

Professor Dumbledore chose that moment to usher us all inside, beckoning us towards the Great Hall. Once every Hogwarts student was seated, those from Durmstrang and Beauxbâtons came in. The French students went over to the Ravenclaw table, which wasn't really a surprise. They blended in perfectly with their blue robes. The Bulgarians (at least I assume they are from that country) went over to the Slytherins. I vaguely saw Marik sitting beside Koe... Bakura. Damn it, all habits die hard, and for Ra's sake it's my last name. Maybe I should call him Akefia. It's the name he chose when Seto Kaiba created him an identity as my brother.

So, as I was saying, Marik and Bakura still seemed to be in an argument. Dursmtrang students kept glancing at them strangely, as if they were both crazy. If only they knew how right they were...

As dinner went on, the entire school chattered excitedly about and with the newcomers. Craig kept glancing over at the Slytherin table; only for once he wasn't glaring.

"Craig, if you carry on like that, your eyes are going to pop out of your head and into your soup." Zach joked after a while. "I would hate this to happen while I'm having my supper."

His friend seemed to snap out of his daze long enough to shoot virtual daggers at the dark haired, before resuming his staring.

* * *

"So, which one of you is trying out?" Zach asked once we had all returned to our room.

The Headmaster had presented to us the Triwizard Cup just before shooing us off to bed. He had also explained the rules. Whoever wanted to be one of the three champions was to put his name inside the Cup. On Halloween night, my favourite holiday, it would spit out the three names the entire school, plus the students of both Durmstrang and Beauxbâtons, were waiting for.

"I'm definitely not trying!" Terry smiled from his bed as he slipped beneath the covers. "Eternal glory is not what I'm seeking."

"I see what you mean." Craig laughed. "But it would be nice if a Hufflepuff was chosen to represent Hogwarts. I'm gonna try, but I don't think I'll be chosen. Zach is definitely not getting chosen, unless he is destined to die during one of the Tasks."

A pillow hit him square in the head. Zach glared at him.

"I'm sure I would make a better champion than you would ever be!" He growled before crawling in his bed. He blinked, apparently figuring something was missing. Finally he growled and muttered "Accio Pillow", earning himself a few chuckles from our part.

"I guess I'm going to try too." Cedric said. "How about you, Ryou? Interested?"

I shook my head. "No thanks. I'm with Terry on this one. I'll leave the eternal glory for others."

"You guys are no fun!" Zach groaned from his bed. Both Terry and I rolled our eyes. Craig chuckled and pointed at the lamps with his wand. "Nocturno."

The flames went out, and we all waited for sleep to take over us.

* * *

_So endeth the 2nd chapter. I should have the 3rd chapter out pretty soon._

_Anyone want to guess what I have planned for the Triwizard Cup? Whoever finds out first gets a virtual cookie. _

_Hope you enjoyed it. See you all next chapter!_


	3. Bog' Attack

_Sorry it took me some time to put this chapter up. I had a couple things to worry about this last month (some personal stuff and then some goddamn exams). Next week I wouldn't have to worry about them that much, so I should put these chapters up much faster. There will be a couple of POV switching in this chapter, I hope it won't be too confusing. _

_Anyways, before I start, I'd like to thank those of you who reviewed and those who put me in their favs/alerts/something. I hope you'll enjoy the rest of my story. To Marie the Ravenclaw: Some of the other characters will make an appearance on occasions, but not all of them._

_And I dedicate the beginning of this chapter to Helen the 2__nd__, who wanted to see Seto getting himself the Howlers. I had a lot of fun tortuting him._

* * *

**Chapter 3: Bog' Attack.**

Halfway across the world from Hogwarts, Seto Kaiba was having a bad day. He had fallen asleep on his desk the night before, which would mean he would have to endure Mokuba's angry rant some time this day. The last person to have taken some coffee the night before had forgotten to replace the empty packet, so he had to wait an extra hour for his secretary to go buy some more and make some for him. He had snapped at some of his employees a lot more harshly than necessary, and although most of them were used now to his hot temper due to lack of sleep and caffeine, one of his recently hired agents was having a nervous breakdown because of it and needed to take the week off. Not to mention the shipment of newly modified Dueldisks running late due to a lost file.

And since Murphy loves tormenting him, he was running on painkillers due to a massive headache.

"Mister Kaiba, your younger brother has arrived." The intercom on his desk suddenly announced. The young CEO glared at the device and tried to focus on the report he was typing. The tip-tipping on the keyboard wasn't helping his headache, and it kept banging against his skull even when his fingers left the device.

... Wait... That wasn't the keyboard...

Seto Kaiba growled and turned his head towards the source of the tapping. A falcon was perched on the window sill, its beak hitting the glass rather harshly. He could understand why the bird was in such a hurry to get in. The two scarlet enveloppes it held were starting to emit smoke.

"Go away!" The young man muttered, as he leaned his head back against his chair. The tapping got worse. And now the bird was screeching.

"SETO!!" Great... He had forgotten Mokuba was coming. "How many times must I... hey, isn't that Marik's falcon?"

"...Mokuba, don't you dare..."

But the younger Kaiba had already opened the window, oblivious to the menace the bird was carrying. The falcon quickly dropped the two letters on Seto's desk and was gone before you could say "Blue Eyes White Dragon."

Despite his pounding head, the CEO was quick enough to swipe the letters away from his computer, letting them hit the carpet mere seconds before they exploded.

The voices of both Marik Ishtar and Ryou Bakura suddenly boomed in his office, causing Mokuba to jump back in surprise and Seto to smash his palms against his ears. He didn"t understand most of what the Egyptian was saying, although he did guess the Arabic terms were mostly insulting, but he did get a gist of what he was angry about. Ryou Bakura's calmer tone albeit laced with bitter disappointment confirmed his suspicions. They were angry he didn't remind them about the Quidditch World Cup.

The voices died down with the insane laugh both Kaibas suspected belonged to the former Spirit of the Ring. Seto grunted in relief, thankful his office was sound proof. He glared at the charred spot on his carpet, where the letters had been a few moments ago. Another thing to add on his to-do list... He now needed to redecorate.

He briefly wondered if Marik Ishtar and Ryou Bakura were aware of the fact they were dead...

Mokuba coughed to get his attention. The younger teen smiled sweetly at his brother while happily retreating back towards the door.

"I was going to yell at you about last night, but I guess I'll keep it for tonight. I'll be in the control room!" And with that he disappeared, seemingly proud of himself.

Seto Kaiba was really having a bad day.

* * *

The next morning, we were once again pulled out of bed by none other than Zach. Only this time he had woken at 5.00 a.m., eager to put his name in the Goblet of Fire, and wouldn't leave without us. It didn't take long to wake us up. Ice sliding down your back when you are sleeping is very unpleasant. So unpleasant that Terry, the most level-headed of my roommates, whipped his wand out and stupefied Zach in a matter of seconds.

As punishment, we gathered the icecubes he had used against us and Craig slipped them down his shirt one by one, taking his sweet time, while Cedric and I held on tight to his arms to subdue his thrashing. Jounouchi and Honda, whom I had to restrain more than once back in Domino, seem pretty tame compared to our annoying roommate.

When we finally got to the Great Hall more than an hour later, we were surprised to see some students already sitting at their respective tables. And not just Sixth or Seventh Years, too, some of the younger ones were watching eagerly as a Ravenclaw dropped his name in the flames of the magical Cup. I assumed a handful of those who wanted to compete had come even earlier to avoid their gazes.

Terry and I both followed Craig, Zach and Cedric, stopping in front of the thread of silvery mist surrounding the Goblet of Fire. No doubt it was a charm to prevent younger students from putting their names inside it. Zach was the first one to drop his name in the Goblet, before excitedly grabbing Cedric's arm to drag him closer. Craig rolled his eyes before following suit, although we could see he was smiling. The Hogwarts students, minus a good deal of the Slytherins, cheered and applauded, especially the Hufflepuffs.

"That was fun!" Zach said when they came back to join us at the table. "You guys sure you don't want to tryout?" Both Terry and I shook our heads.

"Trust me, I've had enough excitement to last me a lifetime!" I chuckled.

"And I'm pretty happy with my limbs where they are now." Terry joked.

The chief amusement that morning was when two Gryffindors I learned where the Weasley twins took an aging potion in order to tryout (they were sixteen). Nothing happened at first when they crossed the age limit line. However, as they lifted their hands towards the Cup, a shokwave sent them both flying against one of their friends ("Lee Jordan, the Quidditch match commentator", Terry informed me.) Seconds later, their red hair had turned white and long beards grew from their chins.

At the end of the incident, Marik joined us. He was holding his sides from snickering too hard. We weren't any better.

"'Morning guys!" He called out, tilting his head in greetings. Cedric frowned, Zach growled and Craig raised an eyebrow. Only Terry curtly nodded in response, for which I was grateful. At least one of my new friends seemed okay with Marik. The Egyptian grinned back, satisfied, before switching to Japanese.

"Did you put your name in the Cup?" I shook my head no. "Good, because I have a small favor to..."

He trailed off and stared at something behind me, his eyes narrowing to slits. Surprised, I turned round to see K... "Bakura" tossing a paper inside the Goblet. He then walked back to the Slytherin table amid some polite applause. His eyes drifted briefly our way, a smirk spreading on his face as soon as he spotted Marik, showing off his slightly pointed teeth.

"Is that your twin?" Craig asked unnecessarily, for they all knew the answer. "He seems to have more of a backbone than you do." I stuck my toungue out at him while Marik seethed.

"Jackass..." He muttered in Egyptian (one of the only words I understood). He focused his attention back to me. "Ryou, could you please..."

"No!" I interrupted, already guessing what he was about to ask.

"Oh come on! In two months I'll be 17! Two months! Even less than that! It's not fair!"

I sighed. "You better than anyone should know life never is. Besides, on the offchance that you **do** get picked, Isis is going to kill me. You know that, right?"

He paused and stared at me. Ha! Counter that, Marik!

"... I'll say I tricked you into it!" He finally said. "I'll take all the blame! Honest!"

I raised an eyebrow. He growled.

"You do know I won't even have to lie if you force me to." He muttered. I stared at him in disbelief. Was he threatening to use the Rod against me? He stared back at me with his arms crossed. He was.

"The Spirit wouldn't like that."

"Bakura can go kiss his ass."

"It won't work anyways," I countered. "You can't use the rod against an Item Bearer."

"I can't." He admitted. "However, last I checked, you weren't the one wearing the Ring."

My eyes drooped down to my chest for a few seconds. He was right. I couldn't feel the heavy weight of the Ring beneath my shirt. "Bakura" still wore it, and I doubt he'd consider ever relinquishing it to me. So even though I technically was still the owner of the Ring, Marik could carry on with his threat.

We kept staring the other down in silence. My roommates stayed silent too. Well, almost. Either Terry or Craig silenced Zach before he could get a word out of his mouth if his pained "oof" is any indication. We just stared until one of us would admit defeat, and I wasn't about to give up easily.

Well I **did** last five minutes.

"Fine!"

He grinned happily and asked me to write my own name on a paper and hand it to him, and please Ryou, keep bickering in Japanese. I briefly wondered what happened to what was left of his sanity. He slapped a hand against his forehead, saying something in Egyptian I couldn't understand, before explaining to me that it would be suspicious to my friends if I went to put a piece of paper he would hand me. So the plan was for us to continue bickering, and make them believe that he was convincing me to participate and that I was resisting. Then, he'd pretend to hand the paper with my name on to me after picking it up from the table, when actually he would have switched it with his own paper prepared beforehand. That little sneak. He had planned this all along! Finally, he ushered me towards the Goblet, switching in between Japanese and English. I muttered a thousand threats under my breath as I made my way to the age-limit under the confused gaze of my roommates. The Goblet flared twice when I tossed the paper in. Once again, students applauded. As I made my way back to my seat, I noticed Ko... "Bakura" narrowing his eyes at us.

Marik beamed at me as soon as I was seated.

"Remember." I started, still grumbling. "You get picked, you tell Isis you tricked me into this."

His grin turned into a smirk. "Yeah, don't worry. Like I said, I won't even have to lie about it."

I froze, and stared at him. Of course he'll have to lie. I knowingly took the paper with his name on it. He didn't trick me into taking it!

"All I'll have to do is say I've tricked you by handing you both our names. Simple as that!"

... What?

"Marik..." I growled. "Please tell me you still have that piece of paper with my name on..."

His smirk widened. "Ah, but that would be lying, would it not?" He leaned down slightly and tapped me on the nose. "You're so easy to manipulate, Millenium Item or not!"

I kept staring, mouth agape. That little... Frustrated, I threw my hands in the air, snarling. Yes. Snarling. Doesn't happen often, but it happens nonetheless.

"Dammit Marik! I hate you!"

He laughed. "I love you too, Ryou." Then switching back to English. "Talk to you later guys. It was fun coming over." And left to get a seat at his own table, leaving behind a few very confused Hufflepuffs, and a very frustrated me.

"Erh..." Unsurprisingly, it was Zach that broke the following silence with such an eloquent icebreaker. "Why do you look... mad?"

I growled and let my head drop down on the table, using my folded arms as a pillow this time. "Maybe because I am." I muttered.

"We figured." Craig added. "But I believe the real question would have been 'WHY are you mad?'"

"Don't ask." I shut my eyes, feeling my hands twitching against my elbows. "Just... don't ask."

* * *

Marik decided it would be best to avoid Ryou for the rest of the day. After all, he was supposed to be a certain Tomb Robber's reincarnation, and said Tomb Robber was someone you didn't want to anger. So although Marik had never once seen Ryou getting seriously mad at anyone before, he didn't want to take his chances.

This is why, for the first time these last two months, Marik left the Hall early to get to DADA. Not that he really minded. He liked the class. The teacher wasn't nicknamed "Mad Eye Moody" for nothing. His eye wasn't the only mad thing about him either. After going over the Unforgivable Curses, they had started working on their speed and reflexes. In the middle of a lecture, Professor Moody could very well send a random curse on any of the students. "Constant Vigilence," he would say. Very few had managed to avoid the spell. Marik suspected Bakura of cheating.

Speaking of the former spirit, the young Tomb Keeper couldn't help feeling his harsh gaze on the side of his face during the entire lesson. Bakura wasn't happy about something, and it involved him. Marik decided then he'd have to avoid both Bakuras, although the older "twin" was going to be more of a problem than the other one.

One of the Gods must have been on his side that day, for as soon as the bell rang the end of the class, Professor Moody decided to aim his last curse of the day to Bakura. The thief avoided it, but it gave Marik enough time to slip away from the room before he could get caught.

In the span of two months, Marik had had enough time to explore most parts of the castle, although he did his best to avoid the dungeons unless it was absolutely necessary. He knew of a couple shortcuts left and right, up and down. Well, in all honestly, Bakura had found most of these shortcuts. But they also knew detours. And Marik was planning on using one of them to get to Potions and sit beside one of his other classmates without having to face any of the albino twins.

One of these detours consisted on taking the stairs for the Astronomy tower, hurry along two corridors lined with classrooms, down another flight of stairs on the ground level into a usually deserted corridor until reaching the last staircase leading to the dungeons.

He had just reached the ground level when a First Year rushed past him, screaming.

"The Reaper! It's after me!"

Surprised, the Egyptian followed him with his eyes before shrugging it off and heading down the corridor the student had just fled.

And froze.

There, in the middle of the usually empty corridor, stood a tall cloaked figure that did not look like a Reaper. The person was a dark skinned young man, with pale blond hair spiked up towards the ceiling. He was wearing light cargo pants, a black sleeveless top and a deep purple cloak was flung over his shoulders. He had insane purple eyes, staring right back at Marik, rooting him to the spot.

Marik seriously wished it had been a Reaper standing there, even Death itself, anything so long as it wasn't his darker half.

Slowly he took a step back, eyes glued to the image of his nightmares, who smirked back at him before stepping closer. The crazier of the two brought his hand to his belt loop, revealing the golden rod that had helped creating him. Marik's already horrified eyes widened.

"What...? No! You're supposed to be gone! I... I sealed you away!"

A deep bloodcurdling chuckle erupted from the darkness's throat as he crept closer, despite Marik's efforts to keep a safe distance between them. But for every step he took back, it seemed his counterpart was taking two steps forward. His other hand took hold of the hilt of the rod and with an unpleasant sound unsheathed the blade hidden inside.

Marik finally came to his senses long enough to turn round and bolt back the way he had come from.

He didn't go far, though. He was just about to reach the corner, turning his head round to check behind him, when he crashed heavily against someone seemingly stronger than he was, for the force of the blow sent him flying backwards. He would have landed on his back had the newcomer not grabbed his wrist to pull him forwards, Sadly, this caused the Egyptian to trip on his own foot, and he hit the floor, unadvertantly pushing the other person down with him.

"Ow! Dammit, Ishtar! Watch where the fuck you're going!" Growled a voice from beneath Marik before he was roughly shoved aside. The Egyptian yelped and glanced to the side in time to see Bakura roll slightly backwards then swiftly forwards to jump back up to his feet with the agility of a cat. The Thief suddenly froze, eyes widening, as he stared at the figure Marik was desperatly trying to evade.

Marik heard a crack resounding behind him. Having just managed to scramble back to his feet, he dove back to the ground with a cry, hands over his head in hopes of avoiding the spell he was sure had been directed to either him or Bakura. Said former spirit still stood frozen to the spot beside him, in shock or confusion, Marik could only guess.

Finally snapping out of it, Bakura took a step towards the menace, his wand drawn out.

"Ridikulus!" He shouted. The spell he used confused Marik, and as the Thief's low chuckle turned to insane laughter in the span of a few seconds, the Egyptian cautiously rolled to his side, glancing behind him. Just in time to see the mangled body of the Pharaoh disappear with a pop.

"...What...the Hell...?" He muttered. Bakura glanced down at him, taking note of his lighter tan and barely perceptible shivers.

"Boggarts, Ishtar." He growled. "Creatures that take the appearance of what you fear the most. Still scared of your darker image, I see..."

Marik snapped his face up to him with a scowl, seconds away from denying that fact. The words died as they tried to pass his lips though, and he turned away, his fear turning to anger against both himself and the former spirit.

Bakura chuckled darkly. "Stupid Ishtar." He added. His glare returned just as quickly as it had left him, and he turned his dark eyes upon the Egyptian, who was currently pushing himself back up.

"Why did you enter Ryou?"

Marik blinked, surprised by the sudden change of topic.

"I just felt like it." He shrugged after a couple of seconds of silence, once he felt calm enough to answer. "I figured it might be good for him to be in the spotlight instead of constantly in the shadows. Sometimes, I wondered if the Pharaoh even knew he existed."

"What if he likes sticking to the shadows?" The Thief answered back coldly, eyes narrowing to slits.

"...He doesn't..." Marik simply replied, before he too decided to change the subject, out of curiosity. "What did you see?"

The Thief didn't turn away, but he didn't answer directly either. Marik thought his eyes widened ever so slightly, but he wasn't sure.

"... That's none of your business." He finally stated, turning back round to walk away. "We have Potions, remember?"

Marik scrambled after him, muttering curses until his pace matched that of Bakura's. "I just want to know what got you so shaken..."

"What the Hell are you talking about?"

"Your laugh sounded forced to me." Bakura growled but didn't answer, so Marik pressed on. "Come on... The corpse of the Pharaoh? Sure it would only make **you** laugh, but why choose **that** and force the mirth in your laugh? You **were** shaken..."

"Ishtar..." Bakura growled dangerously. "Drop it! I fear nothing!"

_And I'm the Queen of Egypt..._ Marik thought darkly as they made their way down the stairs.

They were rather surprised when they finally got to Potions. The other students usually gathered in small groups, sticking more often than not with those from their own House. This time, however, everyone appeared a little jumpy, and some mirthless laughs could be heard, the kind one would make after having been on the receiving end of a very bad prank.

Ryou was looking rather unhealthy beside his Hufflepuff friend, a tall dark haired whose name Marik still couldn't remember. The Egyptian was quickly unnerved by the awkward laughing, and that was when he realised that the usually hyperactive Hufflepuff suddenly seemed to have switched from sugar-active to caffeine-active. The fact that he would jump at the slightest noise just screamed paranoia.

Not that Marik was any better. And Snape did seem grumpier than usual.

They didn't stay long in Potions. When the third cauldron started leaking thick green smoke, the first two having come pretty close to exploding, Snape snapped at them all and after substracting points from every house, his own included, he sent them all away. Everyone gladly rushed out of the dungeon, surprisingly forgetting to complain about the very long essay the teacher had made sure to assign them before they left.

* * *

Boggarts. A handful of Boggarts. They were the reason why that Ravenclaw mistook Moonroot for Rainweed. They were also the reason why Zach forgot to add powdered Bowt to his cauldron, causing the heavy green smoke that nearly choked us.

Apparently, those little buggers had decided to "haunt" the dungeon corridors. It was hardly possible to walk past them to get to Potions.

I shudered as I thought back of the wooden puppet with dead eyes that was hanging limply from its strings. I'm ok with the occult, but seeing as the puppet had been a very realistic copy of myself, with red paint dripping from its hands... Gods, I feel sick...

To think Marik made me volunteer for the title of Hogwarts' champion when I can hardly deal with a freaking Boggart... Stupid Egyptian!

"Why the long faces?" Cedric asked when he, Terry and Craig joined us at the Hufflepuff table. "You guys saw a ghost that wasn't supposed to haunt Hogwarts?"

Zach laughed. It wasn't a happy laugh. It was a very unhealthy sounding laugh.

"Well... Sort of..."

Zach's uncle, aunt and cousin had been killed by a death eater fifteen years ago. When the Aurors caught up with him a couple years later, he wouldn't go down without a fight, despite the Dark Lord's death. The Aurors killed him.

Even dead, Zach is afraid he will come back to finish off the rest of his family.

"Boggarts? Ha, glad I don't have potions anymore!" Craig shivered once they were filled in. "Hope they won't have one during the Tournament!"

"Most likely they will." Terry grinned mockingly. "And I will most definitely be on the sidelines, pitying the poor fools that would have had the misfortune of becoming School Champion. And if either one of you does become champion, I will enjoy every sweet scream of terror."

We all glared at the smartass that claimed to be our friend. Not that he seemed affected by it.

Dinner went rather smoothly, if you don't count the fact that despite the plates were cleared in record time, time itself seemed to have slowed down. The usual chatters became louder and more excited as the clock ticked, people eagerly turning to face the Teacher's table, and more specifically, the three Headmasters. Marik did join us at one point, just long enough to hint the fact I could be Champion. He left just as quickly. I think he didn't trust the pitcher of pumpkin juice in my hands.

Finally, after much waiting, Professor Dumbledore stood up and asked for our silence. First, he wanted to apologize for the slight inconvenience caused by the group of Boggarts that had somehow found its way into the castle, thus disrupting a class or two. Disrupting being an understatement in my opinion.

Silence fell on the Great Hall as the Headmaster drew our attention towards the Goblet of Fire. Students were physically leaning towards it in anticipation and excitement. I was one of the very few who was actually dreading what was about to follow.

The blue flames burning inside the cup turned a vivid red, and a slightly burned piece of parchiament was spewed out of it, before fluttering down into the Headmaster's awaiting hand. He paused for good effect after unfolding the note.

"The Champion that will represent Durmstrang is Viktor Krum!"

Vivid applause came from the Slytherin table where the Durmstrang students were all seated as the young Bulgarian Seeker stood up to join the Headmaster at the end of the Hall, shaking his hand before being directed towards a small door behind the Teacher's table. Many Quidditch fans were also delighted.

The cheers died down as a second parchiament flew out of the red flames. Professor Dumbledore slowly unfolded it, and smiled.

"For Beauxbatôns: Fleur Delacour!"

This time the applauding came mostly from the Ravenclaw table as the French students praised their classmate, a beautiful girl that gracefully walked up to Dumbleodre before she too disappeared behind the door. I have to admit, she is really pretty.

Silence fell once again and every eye rested on the Goblet. The last piece of parchiament would be the one bearing the name of the Hogwarts Champion. I crossed my fingers behind my back, silently praying the Gods to have mercy on me for once in my Ra-damned life!

The flames turned red, the piece of parchiament landed in the Headmaster's hand. I swear he was taking even longer than for the first two Champions.

"And finally, the Champion that will represent Hogwarts is Akefia Bakura."

The collective groan made by my friends, the angry and disapointed shouts from the Gryffindors, my sigh of relief mixed with dread and the Arabic curses from Marik were all drowned by the Slytherin cries of victory. Polite applause from the other tables rose slowly as the man that used to be the voice in my head stood up in what could have been considered boredom, shook the Headmaster's hand rather stiffly and went to join the other two Champions.

I felt very sorry for Fleur Delacour and Viktor Krum...

* * *

_And the chapter ends here. I hope the switch in POVs wasn't too confusing. I'll try getting the next chapter up pretty quickly, just give me a week to finish my exams before starting to work seriously on it. Hope you enoyed it!_


	4. Never said it would be easy

_I'm late, once again. I'm really sorry, but a lot of things have been happening. Not really pleasant ones, unfortunately. _

_Thank you for all the reviews. And also thanks to those of you who have put this story in their story alerts and/or favorites. I hope you won't be disappointed by this chapter._

_Enjoy!_

* * *

Chapter 4: Never said it would be easy.

Bakura was feeling his annoyance slowly rising as he waited patiently in the little room with the Durmstrang and Beauxbatons champions. Well, "patiently" wasn't going to last long if the other two carried on acting the way they did. He could see from the corner of his eyes that both kept glancing his way with a slightly weirded out expression. He growled and turned his head their way, glaring. The girl quickly averted her eyes. The boy grunted and folded his arms, deciding he would rather look at something else. Satisfied, the thief leant his head back against the wall behind him, hands buried deep inside his pockets.

The door creaked open and a younger Hogwarts student, bearing the colors of Gryffindor, came in. He had a mop of messy black hair, wore glasses, and had the air of someone who would rather not be standing awkwardly in this room with them. Bakura decided the boy wasn't worth his time and so resumed his glaring at the weird decorations the room had to offer.

The girl, Fleur, decided to ask... no, demand the boy what they were expected to do, her French accent making her slightly less intimidating than it could have been. Krum also looked at the boy expectantly. They didn't get an answer besides a very confusing blabber that reminded Bakura of Ryou or even Mûto when they were caught in a rather embarassing situation.

The door was suddenly flung open to allow some of the Hogwarts teacher as well as the three Headmasters in, seemingly engaged into a heated argument. The French Headmistress as well as the Nordic one were assaulting Dumbledore with questions spoken in a harsh accusing tone.

The boy took a few steps back, as if bracing himself for what was about to come. That caught Bakura's attention. More so when all teachers rounded on the boy with accusing, disbelieving and/or concerned eyes.

"Harry." Started Dumbledore calmly. "Did you, or did you not put your name in the Cup?"

Fleur and Krum both glanced at one another before staring at the black haired boy. Bakura merely looked on with slight curiosity as the boy shook his head no.

The onslaught of questions carried on, interrupted frequently by the other two Headmasters' accusations of lies and deceipt, with Fleur joining in more than once. McGonagall had to push her way through the angry adults to stand beside the boy, a hand placed reassuringly on his shoulder as she sensed his discomfort.

The yelling was starting to get on Bakura's nerves, no matter how much he enjoyed chaos. Plus it was starting to give him a headache.

"Oh for Ra's sake!" He suddenly exclaimed, catching everyone's attention as he pushed away from the wall and stalked over to the mass of people. They had all nearly forgotten his presence, as well as that of Krum.

The Thief stood in front of the group, studying the boy with a raised eyebrow. The boy seemed tense, his eyes showing surprise, confusion and loss. The boy clearly didn't want to be here and was just as surprised as the others to have been, if Bakura had followed correctly, chosen as a Fourth Champion.

"I know a liar when I see one." The white-haired champion finally growled after narrowing his eyes. "The boy is saying the truth. He didn't do anything."

The boy blinked, surprised by the expected back up. Everyone stared at the Thief. He kept his glare level.

Suddenly the room was once again flooded with accusations, this time directed more specifically towards Dumbledore. Bakura clenched his teeth as his headache worsened. Mad Eye said something about Dark Magic being involved, something neither "Harry" nor the Hogwarts Headmaster would have been able to do. "Idiot", Bakura thought as the DADA teacher was then accused of being the one responsible for this mess.

* * *

Marik was in a bad mood. The entire Slytherin Common Room had decided to throw a party in honour of their champion. He was mildly surprised though, upon seeing that the banners displayed insults and curses to the other Hogwarts, Harry Potter, instead of attacking the Champions from the other schools. A pale blond boy from Fourth Year seemed pretty happy about the decorations promoting the Chosen One's untimely demise.

Marik decided he didn't want to wait for Bakura's smug look and so went straight to bed, pulling the bed curtains shut behind him to signal he did NOT want to be disturbed. He was sleeping, not hiding. At least that was what he kept telling himself.

The cheers suddenly became louder after a while, only to stop as abruptly as they had started in the span of a few seconds. Marik figured Bakura had returned, and for some reason, he was NOT happy. His suspicions were confirmed when the door slammed shut and a heavy weight fell on the bed on his right.

"Fucking bastards..." Growled a voice he knew all to well. Marik couldn't help it. He snorted.

"What did they do? Keep you in for hours to explain the rules?" The Egyptian mocked. He heard a bed creaking and his bed curtains were nearly ripped open. Marik glared at the Thief now standing beside him.

"No..." He growled dangerously. "They fucking spent hours yelling at each other over that little punk that managed to get himself chosen without even knowing his name was in the Cup. It was worse than having to listen to the Pharaoh and High Priest arguing against one another!"

Marik blinked. "Oh... Let me guess... They didn't reach an agreement?"

"Of course not." The Thief muttered before lying back down on his bed with his arms folded behind his head, leaving the bed curtains open so he could see Marik from the corner of his eyes. "They think the kid did it on purpose, despite him seeming as happy about it as Mûto was when he realised he had to go the Duellist Kingdom to release his Grandfather's soul."

"I'm sorry, what?" The Egyptian sputtered. Bakura glanced at him in annoyance.

"Duellist Kingdom. Maximilian Pegasus. Milennium Eye. Some months before Battle City. You don't seriously believe you were the first one to challenge the midget, do you?"

"Of course not, but I don't remember anyone giving me the details!" Marik muttered. "So... what about the kid?"

"My best guess?" Bakura stared up at the ceiling for a while, his mind ticking off various possibilities until he ended with the most plausible. "Someone wants him dead."

* * *

It didn't take a genius to realise Harry Potter was miserable. I myself could see that, even though I hardly ever saw him. But for some reason, the fact that the Boy Who Lived was suffering from his new title as well as from both hostile and enthusiastic reactions of the Hogwarts' students was something many people failed to aknowledge. That, or they simply didn't care.

Some students even seemed to enjoy drowning the boy in his own misery. Take the Slytherins, for instance. Well, besides Marik and my "twin". They created badges that would praise Bakura, "the true Hogwarts Champion", and that, when pressed, would display "Potter Stinks". Wonderful example of student maturity, don't you think?

Also, despite the fact that everyone had clearly noticed, at the beginning of the year, that there were TWO Bakuras, and that the champion was from Slytherin, people still manage to get us mixed up. Seriously. One morning the Champions were all called for a wand examination and a photo shoot. A second year came to my classroom asking for "Bakura". We were a little surprised at first, but when he mentionned the Tournament, we realised he was talking about Akefia.

It's a good thing I nagged Marik until he gave me that parchiament with their schedule on, so I could direct the confused student to the correct classroom.

Speaking of my Egyptian friend, we had planned on meeting up in an empty classroom during free period. "Bakura" usually spends his free periods God knows where. Which is why I was surprised to see him leaning back on a chair when I got to the classroom. Alone.

"Where's Marik?" I asked once I got over my surprise. He shrugged, somehow keeping steady despite his seat being dangerously balanced on the back legs.

"Probably still in class." He muttered. That's when I remembered the second year boy coming over asking for him.

"How was the photo shoot? No casualties I hope?" I asked as I sat on a desk across from him.

I heard a snort and the front legs of his chair met the ground with a thump. "Bakura" rested his chin in his palm, his elbow using the desk before him as leverage. His eyes, half clouded with boredom, met mine with a small glare.

"The photographer was obsessed with French Girl and the journalist with the Potter kid. No one gave a fuck about me so it was fine. At one point I thought Potter was going to murder her, though." A grin appeared on his face but his eyes didn't have the glint they usually had whenever blood or murder were mentionned.

"The wand guy was annoying." He continued. "Went up and told everyone my wand held a phoenix heartstring. You should have seen their looks! I guess they don't make those anymore."

To be honest, I had been rather surprised and horrified when he first told me about it. I guess it makes sense, though. My wand has a phoenix feather as its core. Besides, I stopped counting the number of times both the former spirit of the Ring and myself should have died and stayed dead after the second or third time.

Where he got it? Well he "stole" it from the back of the wandshop we visited to get Marik a new wand, his having been snapped by his darker half at one point. "Bakura" disappeared amid the various explosions Marik was causing, only to reappear when a wand finally accepted the Egyptian. Apparently he had used the powers of the Ring to find his more quickly.

I got myself an earful when he realised I had left some galleons on the counter for payment of his wand.

"Hey Ryou!" Marik greeted when he finally passed the door. "Sorry I'm a little late, one of the corridors got blocked by Peeves. Oh, you're here... why are you here?"

My darker half grunted. "I'm tired of the Hufflepuffs mistaking me for the weakling." I nearly choked on nothing but thin air out of indignation. Weakling? WEAKLING? "So I decided the best way to avoid that from happening would be to stay with you two instead of roaming the corridors alone."

Marik muttered something in Epyptian I could not understand. I'd wished he'd stop that. I'd wished they would both stop doing that.

I must have made a face because Marik chuckled whereas "Bakura" glanced my way with amused eyes, a smirk tugging at the corner of his lips.

"It means 'Why don't you just get lost?'" Marik grabbed a chair and was soon straddling it, resting his arms on the backseat. "I'll repeat it for you."

Before I knew it, Marik was teaching me basic Egyptian you would never find in text books, but hear everyday when you live with a pissed off Egyptian. "Bakura" added in a few choice words, but that was when the knife he had started throwing at the wall didn't hit the exact spot he was aiming at. I failed to see exactly HOW he could think he missed his target. It seemed pretty accurate from where I was sitting.

Marik told him he was getting rusty. Bakura responded by flunging his knife at him. It imbeded itself hilt deep in the wood of Marik's chair, which meant that part of the blade was sticking out on the other side, an inch away from Marik's stomach. My friend paled as we both yelped out of shock.

Two seconds later, we were both leaping to our feets to lunge at the smirking Thief.

Bakura won the fistfight that followed by pulling Marik's arm behind his back, and knocking the wind out of my chest with a kick when I got close enough. Our assault had lasted approximatively 4 to 5 seconds.

"You're pathetic..." He muttered as he wrenched Marik's arm higher behind his back, making him grit his teeth to suppress a pained yelp, before pushing him towards me. I was still coughing and wheezing from his kick, so when Marik stumbled into me we both fell in a heap on the floor. "Both of you."

By the time we managed to push ourselves back up on our feet, he had already strolled out of the door. Did I mention how much we really hate him when he kicks our ass that easily?

* * *

November came and it soon became a matter of days before the Four Champions would have to face the "unknown" First Task. Well, not exactly unknown to everyone. After a night of following Hagrid some distance away from the castle Grounds, to the half giant's request, Harry had become very well aware of the Task that awaited him.

Needless to say, the Chosen One spent the rest of the night dwelling on the images of the fire-breathing dragons he had seen earlier, and even when sleep finally claimed him, his dreams were plagued by the vicious beasts, seeking to destroy him. When he awoke the next morning, drenched in sweat, his ears still rang with their terrifying roars.

Only when he trudged down to breakfast did an unnerving thought suddenly hit his tired mind. He had not been the only one to witness the dragons. Hagrid had also brought Madam Maxime, and Karkaroff had followed them. And Harry was willing to bet anything that the two Headmasters had already passed the info to their respective champions.

Which meant that out of the Four Champions, only one had no clue as to what awaited them for the First Task. And that was the other Hogwarts Champion.

As he sat down at the Gryffindor table alongside Hermione, who greeted him absently before plunging back her nose into her book, Harry's thoughts were torn between doing what he felt was fair or not doing anything at all. After all, Bakura was a Slytherin. He could very well leave the Snake to figure out the task on his own, like they were supposed to. At least, that was what Ron would have said, had they still been on speaking terms. He glanced slightly towards the tall gingerhead boy. Yup. He was still ignoring his once best friend.

Deciding he didn't want to think about his disastrous loss of friendship right now, he concentrated his thoughts on the only other matter that could keep him preoccupied long enough before being sidetracked once again. He started by sorting his thoughts into two mental lists.

First list: Why should he tell Bakura about the dragons?

Because it wouldn't be a noble thing to keep him in the dark, seeing as all the other Champions would have a clear advantage on him.

Because the guy was the only one to back him up on the night of the selection.

Because it would definitely piss Ron off if he discovered Harry had actually helped a Slytherin.

And that was it for the first list.

Second list: Why he definitely should not tell Bakura about the dragons?

Because the guy was a Slytherin.

Because the guy was rather intimidating.

Because it would be impossible to talk to him without the other Slytherins noticing.

Because it would really not help his situation with Ron if he were to discover Harry had helped him.

He really couldn't think of anymore reasons.

As he stood up, he noticed a group of green-clad students chattering excitedly. The group was trailing after two older Slytherins, one of which had long whitish hair. Even from where he was sitting, Harry could tell it was irritating the other Champion.

The young Gryffindor sighed. His mind was made up.

* * *

It was irritating. Really irritating. The one time Harry really wanted to speak with a Slytherin, he had trouble spotting his target, and whenever he did see him, there was always a pack of Slytherin following him.

And the last thing Harry wanted was an open confrontation with his rival house. He was already having a bad enough year as it was, he really didn't need to add that much trouble. Bakura wasn't worth it.

As the day went by, the young Gryffindor champion found his resolve thinning more and more. He just couldn't find the right time to talk to the Slytherin.

He had almost given up when his last period came to an end. It was then that he saw it. A lone figure leaving the Divination Tower, possibly having left his class a little late. The figure had a long mane of white hair.

"I'll catch you at dinner!" Harry quickly excused himself to Hermione as he ran down the corridor after the older teen, not waiting for an answer. "Hey!" He called out, momentarily forgetting the other's name. Ah, yes. "Hey! Bakura!"

The teen's steps faltered, and he turned round to glance at Harry, startled. "Yes? Can I help you?"

Something was off. However, the younger Champion couldn't exactly pinpoint the problem, so he ignored the feeling for now.

"Sorry to bother you." He gasped as he slowed his pace, having finally reached the other. "But there's something I must tell you."

He had to hurry. If a Slytherin was to spot them together...

"It's about the First Task."

"The First Task?" A wave of confusion crossed the teen's pale features.

"For the tournament!" Puzzlement gave way to realisation, then laughter. Harry stared at the white-haired Champion.

"I'm sorry!" The older teen finally said, his chuckling quikly fading away to be replaced by an apologetic smile. "But I'm afraid you're speaking to the wrong person."

Harry blinked. "What? But..." And that's when it finally clicked. The other was wearing a yellow tie. A glance to the right, and he could see the Hufflepuff crest. "Oh..."

The stranger chuckled once again. "It's alright. We get that a lot. You're Harry, right? Harry Potter?"

The Boy who lived nodded, still a little stunned. "Yeah... Yeah I'm Harry... I'm sorry I thought... You answered when I called Bakura so..."

"I'm Ryou. Ryou Bakura. If you want the Hogwart's Champion, then you're looking for Akefia Bakura." At Harry's blank stare, Ryou sighed. "I'm his twin."

"Oh..." Harry really felt like kicking himself. "Right. Yeah, I really should have realised." He paused and looked a little more closely at the older male. Now that he thought about it, Ryou was quite different from his brother. He seemed a lot nicer, for starters. And he was better dressed. When he had gone to the photoshoot, he had noticed that Akefia kept his shirt untucked, the top buttons undone and his tie loose. Rita Skeeter had frowned slightly disaprovingly before completely ignoring the lucky bastard, actually. He had barely been mentionned in the article. His name never made it in the paper, and he was referred to as an "arrogant looking street punk."

"I'm really sorry, it's just... Never mind." Harry finally muttered. "I should get going. I'm probably wasting your time, anyways."

"Not at all!" Ryou quickly said, a smile still tugging at his lips. He looked about to add something, but someone grabbed hold of the back of his neck and hauled him backwards while speaking another language.

Harry stared at the intruder Ryou was now glaring at and scolding in the same unknown language (if his tone of voice was any indication.) He was slightly taller than Ryou and, despite being tan, had shoulder length pale blond hair. He was wearing the Slytherin uniform, with his sleeves rolled up to his elbows and his tie completely undone. Harry remembered spotting him. He was nearly always by the other Bakura's side.

"Well... Guess I should be going." The youngest male said before turning away. Hermione was probably worrying about him, unless she was once again reading...

"Harry!" Ryou's voice stopped him as he was about to turn the corner. He turned back round. The Hufflepuff wasn't the only one looking at him. The taller Slytherin kept his gaze on the Gryffindor, one eyebrow raised in question.

Ryou continued. "You said you wanted to talk to Akefia, right? About the First Task? Well... what was it? We could leave a message, you know..." He trailed off.

Harry kept silenced for a while, eyes never leaving the odd pair. It wasn't every day you'd see a Slytherin with his arm slung in a non threatening way around a Hufflepuff's shoulder, after all.

"Dragons." He finally said, deciding they were his best shot at getting the information to Bakura. "We're facing dragons for the First Task. I thought he should know. Fleur and Viktor Krum already do." And with that, he left.

* * *

"Dragons?" Bakura stared at Marik with slightly surprised eyes. The Thief was lying on his bed, with his arms beneath his head. Marik was standing in front of him, leaning against the bedpost, arms crossed. The Egyptian had just finished relating Ryou's encounter with the Boy who lived.

"Yeah. Dragons."

Bakura kept his eyes on Marik, eyebrow twitching ever so slightly as he tried to figure out if Marik was indeed telling the truth or just messing with his head. Which wouldn't have been the first time. The Thief could still remember the headache the Egyptian gave him when they were duelling Marik's alter-ego.

And Marik could be a veery convincing liar when he wanted to.

After studying the other's expression a good while longer, Bakura finally closed his eyes. "Figures. And here I thought they would be a little more creative than that."

Marik blinked. And blinked. Then slammed his fist against the bedpost. "Creative? For Ra's sake, Bakura! Dragons! Not stupid snakes from Egypt. Dragons!"

Bakura lazily opened one of his eyes to glare at the tanned male. "So?"

"So?" Marik sputtered. "Are you really that suicidal? How can you be so bloody calm after discovering you'll be facing bloody ferocious dragons in a few days? I mean, it won't be a duel, this time! If you fuck up..."

"Marik!" Marik's words died in his throat at the icy tone. Bakura kept staring at him, eyes cold and filled with annoyance. "I won't fuck up. And you can tell Ryou that. I don't plan on dying... again."

Marik opened his mouth to add something, but he quickly closed it. Annoyed, and perhaps also a little worried, he stormed off to his own bed, closing the curtains violently behind him.

Bakura continued watching the spot he last saw Marik, before pulling out a small golden orb from his pocket. The spikes of his Millenium Ring quivered slightly, but they quickly settled down against his chest when the Thief hissed dangerously. He twirled the orb in his hand a couple minutes, before sighing and putting it back away in his pocket.

"Stop sulking!" He growled to the bed beside his as he too pulled his bed curtains close.

An angry, incoherent insult was growled out at him in Egyptian. He ignored it and laid back down to rest.

_

* * *

_

And the next chapter should be all about the First Task. Can anyone guess how Bakura will manage to pull that one off?

_Not much Ryou perspective during this chapter. I hope you guys don't mind. If anyone has some ideas for improvement, please, let me know._

_Hope you've enjoyed the chapter! Thanks for reading._


	5. Draco Durmiens Numquam Titillandus

_I'm sorry I took quite some time posting this. __This chapter was a nightmare to write. Honestly._

_I won't bore you with author's notes, so I'll let you guys skip to the reading. I hope you'll enjoy!_

* * *

**Chapter 5: Draco dormiens numquam titillandus**

"Is something wrong, Ryou? You don't look well..."

Upon hearing Terry's concern over my health condition, Cedric, Zach and Craig all swiftly turned to stare at me as I took my usual seat beside them. I tried smiling, but I'm pretty sure they didn't buy it.

I blame the sick feeling way down in my stomach.

"I'm fine. Just a little tired, I guess." I absently poured myself a glass of pumpkin juice and nibbled on a piece of toast. Craig and Terry nodded, and although they both kept glancing my way every so often, they decided to leave me alone.

However, Zach, being the subtle one, didn't let the matter drop.

"Are you sure? You really look paler than usual. And you completely ignored that plate of creampuffs over there." I glanced to the left. A huge plate was stacked high with the sweet pastries. I hadn't even noticed. I didn't feel like eating one, actually.

"Really, I'm fine. I couldn't sleep last night. I guess I was a little excited about today." Or rather, stressed completely out of my mind. Because what the others didn't know was that I knew what Bakura and the other Champions were about to face. And I had enough experience with holographic dragons to know that real live ones could only spell death and destruction with capital Ds.

I don't care if Osiris (1) was a God-card, it was still a freaking, two-mouthed DRAGON! I did not appreciate waking up to that during Battle City.

"Yeah, I was pretty excited last night too!" Zach said. "I'm still bitter about not being chosen as Champion, though. I mean, look who gets to represent us! A fucked up kid and a Slytherin asshole!"

He suddenly yelped and glared at the one sitting in front of him. From the corner of my eyes, I faintly saw Cedric give him a look worthy of Seto Kaiba, before he turned my way.

"Don't worry about your brother, Ryou. Dumbledore wouldn't let anything bad happen to the Champions. I'm sure whatever the First Task is, they'll be alright."

If Dumbledore places dragons in the category of "not overly lethal tasks", then this school is even more fucked up than I first imagined. "Measures have been taken to ensure the Champions' safety," he had said. "Underaged students will not be permitted to participate."

We all know how easily that rule got broken, do we?

I'm not really that worried about Bakura. I mean, he's a bloody annoying spirit with more lives than a freaking cat! Who cares if he disappears? He'll just come back, anyways...

Another twist of my stomach and I just couldn't eat anymore. Bakura has his own body now. He might not be able to come back this time.

And for reasons unknown to even myself, I didn't like that possible outcome.

"Let's go to the stadium." Terry suddenly said while standing up. "I don't know about you, but I really want to get some front row seats before the rest of the students all stampede in."

I was quick to follow his lead before anyone could decide forcing the rest of my breakfast down my throat would be a good idea. Craig shot me a disaproving glare but didn't say anything. As we walked out of the Great Hall, an arm was slung around my shoulders and I heard some of my roommates groan in annoyance.

"Hey Ryou!" Marik greeted. "Mind if I join you guys? I'd rather sit with my best friend than with total strangers."

"Sure." I said before anyone could object. Terry nodded to show he didn't mind. Cedric and Craig both shrugged. Zach growled, but thankfully didn't comment.

Marik smirked and we left through the castle doors together, with my roommates walking a couple steps in front of us.

"Edge of the lake!" My friend suddenly hissed in Japanese. "Now. Bakura wants to see you!"

I stumbled to a halt, surprised. Marik's lips were pursed disaprovingly and his eyes were more slanted than usual. I guess he was clearly not invited to our little "get together".

"Oh..." I finally said. "Well... can you save a seat for me, please?" He nodded and I fell behind, taking a turn left instead of following my friends.

It didn't take long for me to reach the edge of the lake. I didn't see anyone, but I knew better. The skies were grey and the trees casted shadows everywhere. I knew the former spirit enjoyed hiding in them. Probably a Thief instinct.

"Took you long enough." His gruff voice took me offguard, having come from right behind me. I grew tense and turned round to face him, slightly annoyed at myself for letting him surprise me.

"What do you want?" I asked. He was wearing one of my old t-shirts, one that was stripped in black and white. Dark trousers covered his legs, which surprised me a little. He had seemed to like jeans better, but I guess these would be easier to run with. His school cloak was fastened over his shoulders.

He shrugged. "I want you to hold on to something for me." He said, casually. "I would keep it myself, but I've learned it was never a good idea to keep all your valuables in the same place."

I blinked. When did he start asking me for favours? Better yet. When did he start to trust me with his "valuables"?

"Sure." I mumbled. "As long as it isn't anything lethal."

He chuckled and pulled something out of his pocket. It wasn't very big, because it could easily fit in his fist.

"Don't you worry your little head over it. Just keep it with you at all times." I moved my hand forwards to take whatever it was he was holding, but as soon as I was close enough he grabbed my wrist with his other hand. I glanced up at his face. He was glaring at me.

"I mean it. Keep it in your pocket. Even when you go to sleep at night. Don't let it out of your possesion, even for a second, or I swear you'll regret it. Am I clear?"

I frowned. "Fine, I get it. What is it, anyway?" He kept his eyes fixed on me a couple seconds before finally releasing my wrist. Something heavy fell into my open palm, and I closed my fingers around the cold metallic ball.

I recognised the thing as soon as I glanced at it.

"What... When and how did you get this?"

He smirked. "Duellist Kingdom. Trust me, Landlord. You do not want to know how."

My stomach churned once more as I thrust the Milennium Eye deep inside my jean's pocket. Point taken...

"One more thing." He suddenly said as I turned to leave, stopping me in my tracks. "Ishtar doesn't need to know."

* * *

When I reached the stadium, students had already started piling in, so it was difficult to move through them to reach my seat. Provided I did find it. I was starting to loose hope when a tanned hand decided to prove me wrong by grasping my wrist and pulling me to the front of the rows. My roommates were already seated, and Marik's cloak had been strewn over two seats next to them to signal they were already taken.

"Where have you been?" Craig asked as I sat beside Cedric, Marik having moved his cloak so we could sit down.

"Bathroom." I mumbled. My Egyptian friend chuckled. "Urusai (2)", he whispered. I rolled my eyes.

My four roommates then got into a heated debate over something, but the growing chatters of the students around us made it impossible for me to hear anything besides Cedric's part of the conversation. I turned towards Marik, but the look he was giving me stopped me from saying anything.

"What did he want?" He asked while keeping his eyes narrowed at me. The tone in his voice was enough to say he didn't trust Bakura as much as I thought he did.

_Ishtar doesn't need to know..._

"Just wanted to make sure I was still alive, I guess." I quickly said. "Remember what he said at the beginning of the year? He wanted to make sure I wasn't killed stupidly."

Marik didn't seem convinced. "Ryou..." He growled. "If I were to guess which one of you were to die today, I'd bet on the one facing the dragon."

I winced. "You really want me to be sick, do you?"

"Speaking of which..." He sighed and dug an apple from inside his pocket, which he pushed none too gently into my hands. "Eat it!" He ordered. "Your friend Terry told me you hardly ate this morning. I was going to save it for myself as a snack, but you just look like you could keel over any second now."

I stared at the apple, then at him. I opened my mouth to protest.

"Don't make me force it into your mouth!" He growled before I could say anything. I sighed and took a small bite.

* * *

"Ah, there you are!" Ludo Bagman exclaimed as Bakura entered the tent. "I was starting to think you might have chikened out!"

Bakura scoffed and walked over to the nearest wooden post. Harry couldn't help but wonder how the Slytherin managed to appear so calm as he leant casually against the beam. Viktor Krum and Fleur Delacour didn't look as confident as before, and both had sweat glistening on their brow. Harry didn't feel any better.

"Step right up!" The enthusiastic Bagman beckoned them all around him and produced a silk bag. "In this bag you'll find a miniature of what you are about to face. There's four of them, all of different... varieties. Your tasks, gentlemen, my lady, is to grab the golden egg."

All four nodded, and waited as the sound of students rushing overhead to their seats grew louder, before being replaced by an excited chatter.

"Ladies first!" He offered the bag to Fleur. She pulled out a Common Welsh Green, bearing the number two around its neck.

Viktor Krum was next. He drew the Chinese Fireball, and would be the third Champion to compete.

When Bakura stepped up to the bag, Harry couldn't decide whether it would be better for him to be the first or the fourth Champion. The Slytherin pulled out the Swedish Shortsnout. Harry would have questioned his sanity upon seeing the slight smirk the older teen had as he stared at the number one, but he was too preoccupied by the fact that he was about to pull out the Hungarian Horntail.

"There you go!" Bagman cheered. "Mister Bakura will be first. Step right up as soon as you hear the whistle!" And he left the tent, dragging a zombie like Harry with him.

* * *

Bakura leant back against the wooden beam, as if nothing major was about to happen. That is, until a wave of nausea suddenly washed over his stomach, making him cringe.

"Ra dammit, Ryou!" He growled to no one in particular as he brought his hand to his forehead. No one understood Japanese, anyway. "Cut it out!"

The whistle blew, and so he pushed away from the beam, doing his best to ignore the nauseous feelings that weren't his own. He barely noticed Harry walking back inside the tent as he left it, focusing his thoughts on pushing away his lighter personnality's sickness.

And then, he was on the field. Facing him, a large dragon with blue scales was crouched protectively over what he assumed was its nest, amber eyes peering at him suspiciously over a squished snout, hence its name.

First things first, he thought. He felt the Ring quiver from beneath his shirt, and lifted his hand over it to mask the bulge it was sure to create as soon as the spikes would move. Sure enough, two of the dangling pieces had lifted from their resting place on his chest, and he felt the tips pointing to his left, towards the benches.

"There you are!" He growled, looking up towards the bleachers. His eyes met brown beneath white bangs, and he glared. Hard. Brown eyes widened in surprise and shock.

The sick feeling faded, becoming more bearable. Bakura smirked, still looking up towards Ryou, then turned back towards the dragon. The creature hadn't moved a muscle.

The Thief stretched his arms, feeling satisfied once he felt the bones cracking slightly, and clutched the wand in his hand. "_Osbcurum tenebrae_!" He growled.

The field darkened, and he pulled his dark cloak closer around him, running straight inside the shadows forming between him and the dragon.

* * *

"Where did he go?" Cedric suddenly exclaimed, as did most of the students around us. Ludo Bagman's voice faltered in the middle of a comment over "the Slytherin's Champion hesitation" that was "surely a sign of fear," replacing it with a shout of surprise.

Marik was leaning dangerously over the railing, peering down at the shadows. "Dammit! I can't see him!"

I grabbed unto his arm to pull him slightly back before he decided to kill himself. "Careful!" I said before glancing around the field. The dragon stirred and roared, wrapping its wings tighter around itself and its nest. Smoke rose from its short snout, and suddenly a blaze of fire shot across the shadows.

Marik cursed in Egyptian beside me whereas I froze, having caught a glimpse of movement a few meters away from the fire. I leant forward, squinting. There it was again. It was quick, moving fast, a darker mass racing through shadows.

"There he is!" I said, pointing. "He's using the shadows... to hide." The dragon suddenly lurched its head forward, blasting a second burst of flames onto the field. Once again, it had hit the spot where, 10 seconds before that, the mass of darkness I was sure to be Bakura had stood.

"I hope your brother is fast!" I suddenly heard Terry comment. I turned my head towards my friend, who was leaning over Craig and Cedric so that I could hear him. "Dragons' eyes are sharp, despite also being their weakness. Even with that veil of darkness, it can still follow his trail."

There went my stomach again...

"Ryou, are you sure you can see him?" Marik snapped from my other side.

Does he really think I would lie over something like this?

"Maybe it's a twin thing..." Cedric muttered. Marik shot a look his way, then our eyes met. Yes. Maybe it was a "twin" thing...

* * *

"Ra-dammit!" Bakura cursed as he took a sharp turn to avoid another burst of flames. "Time for plan B." He lifted his wand. "_Geminio Umbra_!"

A darker mass of shadows took form, running alongside him. It quicky took the shape of his body, as if his own shadow had decided to stand beside him instead of painting a pattern on the ground. With a flick of the wand, Bakura sent it running away from him, and straight towards the dragon.

The beast's eyes had been trailing behind him up until that point. Confused by the sudden split in the shadows movements, it realed its head backwards, unsure of which trail to follow.

When Shadow Bakura drew dangerously close to itself and its nest, the dragon completely took its eyes off the real Bakura's trail, feeling more threatened by the decoy. It plunged forward, his front paws leaving the nest, snapping its jaws at the Shadow in front of him.

"Perfect!" Bakura smirked as he dashed to the dragon's side, unnoticed as it was too preoccupied shredding his Shadow to pieces. A glimmer of gold was now visible from the nest, now only protected by the dragon's tail and lower body. Bakura quickened his pace, leaping over the tail to dive into the nest.

It was now only a matter of seconds before the dragon would realise its target was hiding right beside him.

The Thief grabbed the Golden Egg, tucking it securely in his arm as he took hold of the edge of the nest to jump out. His foot had barely reached the ground when suddenly the dragon's tail lifted up, and he dove forwards to avoid it as it slammed beside him.

_Busted_, he thought as a deafening roar exploded from above him, and he dashed forwards, cursing the added weight in his arms. He heard a swish and dropped into a forward roll just as the tail whipped the air over him. He didn't waste time pushing himself back up on his feet, sprinting away as fire was breathed down behind him.

"Shit!" He growled as the end of his cloak took fire. Claws appeared on the edge of his vision, and he leapt to the side in an attempt to avoid the hit. A ripping sound filled his ears as pain hit his side, and he was tossed towards a column of fire.

"_CORPUS AGUAMENTI_!" He shouted as he was about to reach the flames, his hand gripping his wand tighly. He was suddenly soaked in water, and he soared straight through the flames, half protected by his drenched clothes. He skidded on the ground several feet away, air knocked out of his lungs, and laid still.

* * *

"Bloody Hell!" Somebody yelled from beside them. Marik and Ryou both stared at the figure that was sent flying out of the shadows onto the light, skidding to a halt just before the entrance to the Champion's tent. Light bounced off of something gold in his arms.

"He's got it!" Ludo Bagman's astonished voice suddenly boomed. "Mister Bakura has succeeded!"

Several men appeared around the dragon, shooting spells at it to tame it. A huge chain appeared around the beast's throat and it was pulled away from the field. The shadows surrounding the pitch were also fading away.

"Wow..." Craig finally said. "I didn't see all of it, but that was something." He leaned over Cedric to add something to Ryou, but he didn't see his roommate. The Slytherin had also disappeared. "Where's Ryou?"

* * *

Bakura groaned and opened his eyes, squinting at the greyish skies above him. _What the Hell...?_ His body felt on fire and something heavy on his chest was painfully crushing his lungs. Cursing, he pushed the offensive object aside with his right arm, hardly hearing the thud as it landed beside him. The movement caused waves of pain to flow through his arm, and he clenched his teeth tightly.

His mind was still foggy from the pain as he pressed his elbows on the ground to push himself upright. He nearly collapsed back down, his left arm giving out completely beneath him whereas his right one trembled, and this time he couldn't stop the cry of pain that escaped his throat. Steadying himself as best he could, he forced himself to a sitting position, and his head swam with dizzyness. The cold air around him gradually brought him back to his senses, and he was suddenly aware that, not only was his body currently enduring an almost unbearable amount of physical pain, but he was also wet and thus, freezing.

Cringing, he glanced down at his left arm. Or rather, what was left of it. Part of the bone on his forearm had broke through the flesh and was now visible amidst the blood. His sleeve was completely shredded, and crimson rivers were flowing down the limb. His side wasn't much better. His shirt had been torn apart by the dragon's claw and a nasty wound adorned it, leaving crimson flowers to rapidly bloom on his skin. _Shit..._

He shifted to his knees, and then, awkwardly, shakingly, the former spirit staggered to his feet, jaw clenched tight to prevent himself from voicing his pain. His right hand left the ground and went to his bleeding side, in a feeble attempt to quelm the flow, while his left arm hung limply beside him. He wasn't even going to try holding it, else his self restraint might be shattered and all his efforts to not cry out would be ruined.

His foot hit something hard, and he glanced down, glaring at the offending artefact. Like Hell was he bending down to retrieve it! There was no way he could manage that with one arm useless. A shadow suddenly fell on the golden object, and its owner gathered the treasure in his arms before glaring down at Bakura.

"Can you walk?" Snape grunted. The former spirit jerked his head as an affirmative. "Good. Now move it!" The Slytherin Head of House gestured towards a tent at the edge of the field, where most likely Madam Pomfrey was waiting.

As they started to walk, Bakura was faintly aware that the buzzing in his ears wasn't going to improve anytime soon, what with the noise the students were making. And by the roaring of the dragon as it was dragged away to be replaced by another.

* * *

"I told you so! I freaking told you so! But would you listen? Noooo, of course not! I mean, it was just a little dragon, what could possibly go wrong?"

"Ishtar..." Bakura growled. "Shut the Hell up before I tear your toungue out and shove it down your throat!"

I shook my head. If Bakura could still come up with threats and tortures to zip Marik's mouth shut, then I guess he was fine. Well, as fine as one could be after sustaining so many injuries.

When we reached the tent, a couple of minutes earlier, Bakura and Professor Snape were just entering from the other end, which opened unto the field. We weren't surprised to notice Bakura wasn't accepting any help as he staggered to the bed, nearly collapsing onto it as Madam Pomfrey quickly moved to heal the bones in his left arm. The piece that was sticking out of his flesh was immediately put back to place, forcing a pained cry out of Bakura's throat, despite the fact he was obviously doing his best to suppress it.

He then proceded to peel off what was left of his drenched shirt off of his bloodsoaken side, while ignoring Marik's comment of "Looking like shit."

His burns were quickly taken care of, and the ribs that had been sprained from his harsh landing as well as the weight of the gold egg were healed in an instant. However, the wound in his side was going to leave a temporary mark, the Nurse said, as was the gash on his left arm where the bone had stuck out.

I spent a whole five minutes blaming the stupid person that had thought stealing from a dragon would be something students should be able to do. Forget the fact Bakura wasn't a regular student.

I got reprimended for voicing my opinion and for fussing over him, complete with a "Foolish boy" comment. Marik took it upon himself to defend me.

Actually, I'm sure he was just dying to yell at Bakura.

"Like Hell I'm shutting up!" Marik spat back. "You deserve every piece of torment after that stunt!"

Bakura's left eyebrow twitched. A pretty sure sign he was going to lash out at Marik and strangle him, despite the bandages wrapped around his now bare torso and keeping his left arm in place. Not wanting to deal with another injured person (worrying over one person is enough for me, thank you very much!), I grabbed Marik by the arm and tugged him towards the entrance of the tent.

"I think they're going to announce the results." I glanced back at the one posing as my twin brother. "I guess it's no use for me offering to help you over to the field?"

As expected, he stood up with a glare, though it was mostly directed towards Marik. "Like I'd need any help..." He grunted. He pulled his newly repaired and dry cloak over his shoulders and grabbed the egg with his right arm. Marik opened his mouth to add something, but I elbowed him before he could say anything and pulled him outside with me. Bakura followed us.

Madam Maxime was the first judge to announce the score she was awarding Bakura. A seven. Mr Crouch followed her lead. Both Professor Dumbledore and Ludo Bagman gave him eight points. And lastly, Professor Karkaroff made a five appear.

"I guess that's what you get for getting injured!" Marik remarked. Bakura shrugged. "Next time, try not to mess up as much as you did today."

"_Silencio_!"

The charm hit Marik square in the chest. He stared at us, mouth agape, and then his lips moved. No sound came out.

Bakura smirked. "That's better." He gloated, before casting his eyes on me. "Don't you dare remove it." He growled before walking away to the sidelines, most likely to see how the other Champions were going to deal with their dragons.

Marik stared at him, enraged, his mouth moving wildly as if he was trying to yell at Bakura despite the silencing charm. Then he grabbed unto my arm and pointed at himself, hope shining in his lavender eyes.

Like Hell I was going to help him!

"Sorry Marik!" I apologized, doing my best to conceal the laugh building in my throat. "You heard Bakura. Besides, it's your fault for taunting him."

I quickly moved out of his way and ran towards the bench Bakura was sitting at to join him before Marik could remember to try non-verbal spells at us. Bakura's smirk widened as I sat beside him.

"He's angry..." He stated.

"Actually, I think he's furious."

Marik proved my point by stomping to another bench, where he sat with his arms crossed. Occasionally he would shoot glares our way.

Bakura was enjoying every single minute of it, I could tell.

* * *

(1) Osiris is better known as Slifer the Sky Dragon (or, for all you YGOAS fans, Slifer the Executive Producer). I liked Osiris better, because it sounds more Egyptian than Slifer. And because in Japanese, it's Osiris the Sky Dragon.

(2) It means "That's a lie" or "Liar."

_If anyone is interested in some fanart for this story, check out my profile. My deviantart account is listed there. _

_I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter ^^ Please leave a review. _


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